October 2008                   MULTICULTURAL NEWS FROM AN AMERICAN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE                        Our 22nd Year
 

In this issue...

The Completed Circle . . . . . . . . . . 1
Tribes facing economic gloom. . . . 2
Cherokee Freedmen . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Tribal Day at the Beach . .   . . . . . .4
Warner Resource Center . . . . . . . 5
Alaska Native Speaks Out . . . . . . . 6
AIR Banquet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Community Photos. . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Protesting the Toll Road . . . . . . . .9
Leonard Peltier Open Letter . . . . 10
Complex Conference. . . . . . . . . .11
Soaring Eagles Dance Class . . . . .12
Las Vegas Uptown View. . . . . . . .13
UNLV Honor the Elders . . . . . . . .14
Entertainment Tidbits . . . . . . . . 15

California Indian Education

The Web Directory
 

  Relocation offices were set up in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dallas. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employees were supposed to orient new arrivals and manage financial and job training programs for them.Other BIA officials recruited prospective "Relocatees" from many of the reservations around the country.

Josh’s Parents overcame the cultural and emotional disruption that took a toll on many of their peers.

They have celebrated their Fifty Year Wedding Anniversary and are happily residing at Santa Ysabel.  

Mr. Webber obtained a stable job with the Federal Aviation Administration as an electronic engineer. He first learned to repair electronic equipment while enlisted in the U. S. Air Force during the Korean War.

In 1963 Josh’s father was transferred to San Diego East County's Mount Laguna and assigned to maintain the Radar Sites. The family lived just below the Radar Sites in a log cabin, now a tourist attraction and someone's summer home with a sign on the cabin saying,

"The Nut Hut". Josh attended kindergarten in Campo. His family then moved to El Cajon. it life started to show signs of stress. He attended 1st and 2nd grades at Lexington Elementary School in El Cajon.

Josh attended 3rd grade at Lakeview Elementary School when the family moved to Lakeside, CA. It was there that he experienced his first bout with social problems. He was expelled from the public school for being hyperactive
and went to a private school. Through his training and education, Josh has learned that these labels can be possibly misdiagnosed for kids needing to fit in socially.

Now that Josh is healing he is appreciative of the many people who have unselfishly intervened in his life. One such person was Mrs. Albert, who took her own private time after 4th grade class to help him catch up to that grade level. “Her unconditional positive regard and belief in me still stays in my heart today” He says with warm, conviction...

 In spite of the hardships that he experienced, Josh always managed somehow to temporarily sidestep personal adversity by excelling the area of his God given athletic abilities. Hyperactivity can be a plus on the wrestling mat, baseball and football fields. His years of throwing the baseball earned him a scholarship to Grossmont College. It was also around this time his life was nothing less than chaotic.

Still, with a desire to rise above his circumstances he completed ten months in the Air Force and was honorably discharged, but not without a bit of drama.

The charge of damaging a car window while drunk resulted in his being sentenced to four years at the Maximum Security Sioux Falls Penitentiary. This
sentence was ultimately reduced to six months through the intervention of Governor Janklow and a commutation of the sentence.

Between the ages of 16 through 22 he admits he was a poster child of a life spinning out of control. Without knowing
anything about alcohol and drug abuse, he was at the mercy of practitioners in an emerging area of the study of rehabilitation.

It was from the ages of 22 through 29 that alcohol/drug rehabs became quite common in his life. He recalls “At twenty-nine there was a moment of clarity through out my being. Sitting under a street light on a curb I called out
to the God of my understanding to help me.. I took everything I learned in the rehab era and put into action tools for recovery.”

All of those who have been and will be helped by Josh Webber can feel grateful that on the night of April 12,1988 Josh Webber’s spiritual consciousness replaced the need for drinking and drugging.

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 Tribes face economic gloom

By Ernie C Salgado Jr
Soboba Tribal Member
 

San Diego, CA – The Indian Gaming business is feeling the negative impact of
the souring economy with many of the small Indian casinos facing closure. The
average loss in income is between 20 and 30% according to some sources and
in some cases even higher.

The immediate result is lay offs, reduction in advertisements and purchases of
goods and services. This will cause a ripple effect, as the Indian gaming business
is a multi million dollar business with not only the Native American benefiting. The
manufactures, suppliers, shipping and hundreds of non-Indian workers will also
feel the impact.

One thing you can bet on is that the government will not be bailing out the
Indian casinos. The State Legislator and United States Congress can’t even pass a
budget to keep the economy running at the state and federal level. This is what
you can call real accountability.

This may not be a bad thing as many Tribal groups were of the mind set that they were above the rest of the world and that the casinos were immune to the economic trends. However, some tribal leaders were aware of the impact of the failing economy and began taking alternative action. Rincon, Pechanga and Auga Caliente are three that immediately
come to mind. Although all three have professional management teams working
for them the Tribal leadership provided the direction.

Many gaming tribe have diversified their assets to other businesses but will still feel the impact of the current economic crisis. Still other has built cash reserves and other
 resources to weather the crisis. However, many tribes lack the leadership to deal with the crisis at hand. In some cases the Tribal Councils actually “Micro Manage” the tribal casinos
even though they hire managers. It is easy to identify the “Micro Managed” tribal casinos because they have an exceptionally high turn over of managers. The biggest reason for the high turnover is because the professional managers don’t always go along with the
political or self-interest decisions made by the tribal leaders.

The new game in town is “Competition” and it will be brutal. Up to now the Indian casino have had the privilege of a 20 to 30% profit margin on the machines. This will change and
in fact it is changing as this is bring written. Management and marketing will be
of the utmost importance in wooing player away from other casinos.

Currently the drop of player is between 20 to 30%, which will drop even lower as the economy struggle to recover. It is going to be a player market with the casino doing everything they can to entice the players to visit their casino. Another major factor is the location of the casinos, as the driving distance will play a critical role in the player’s
selection of casinos.

A new web site, CALIE.ORG will provide free Indian casino players blogs that
will be up and running on October 1st. CALIE.ORG is dedicated to the player views of the best Indian casino to play.  We will keep you informed in our next issue of the changes
in the Indian gaming world.

Ernie Salgado can be reached via email at   IndianVoices(at)hotmail.com

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  Actor Danny Glover & Congresswoman Diane Watson Highlight Congressional Black Caucus Panel on Cherokee Freedmen

Washington, DC — “It is past time for Congress to act,” said Diane Watson, addressing the Congressional Black Caucus’s (CBC) Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. “The D.C. Court of Appeals has ruled that Cherokee officials cannot discriminate
against the Freedmen in violation of the Treaty of 1866 and 13th Amendment,” Watson said. “Congress must step in to enforce the treaty rights of the Freedmen.”

And Congress did step in today, passing a bill authorizing housing funds to Indian tribes but exempting the Cherokee Nation from participation if it denies funds to the Freedmen.
“We are happy that Congress provided some enforcement to the treaty rights of the Freedmen to participate in the housing package, but it is only a small step towards equality and unfortunately only impacts about 10% of the Cherokee Freedmen,” said Freedmen’s lead counsel Jon Velie, also a panelist at the CBC conference.

Mr. Velie explained that despite the D.C. Court of Appeals direction that tribal officials could not violate the treaty, Cherokee officials have ceased processing Freedmen citizenship applications, freezing enrollment at 2,800. “23,000 or 90% Cherokee Freedmen
are denied their treaty guaranteed citizenship rights and therefore cannot participate
in the housing package. The bill does nothing to ensure the rights of these people. While the bill accurately details the horrible state many Indian people are encountering and the need
for housing to prevent homelessness and protect families, the vast majority of poor and needy Cherokee Freedmen will be left to fend for themselves as the housing and financial crisis hits their communities.”

Danny Glover, actor and activist, praised the long relationship between Indian and African American people, citing the tradition of Indian people taking in escaped slaves during the early days of America. He referenced that his character in the movie Lonesome Dove was a
buffalo soldier based on a Seminole Freedmen. Mr. Glover stated he participated on the panel out of deep respect for and in memory of his Choctaw grandmother. He expressed his profound disappointment in the actions of the Cherokees and the other four tribes
(Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw) that have denied the descendants of former slaves equal standing in their tribes.

Marilyn Vann, lead plaintiff of the Federal suit and Band Chief of the Freedmen Band of the Cherokee Nation and President of the Descendants of the Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, told the stories of Freedmen who held offices in the Cherokee Nation throughout
history, stories of current Freedmen, like Ruth Adair Nash whose most prized possession is her Cherokee Membership and voting card issued to her in 1975.

Ms. Vann also told of Charlene White, an elder Cherokee speaking Freedmen from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, capital of the Cherokee Nation, who relies on tribal health benefits to combat her diabetes. Moderator Wayne Thompson declared that the 1866 treaty is the law
and the U.S. must hold Cherokee officials responsible. But it is not just about the law, he said, it is also about morality and justice. Mr. Thompson said 148 years ago the Cherokee Nation went to war against the U.S. with the Confederacy to preserve slavery and lost.

Today, the slave-holding aristocracy of the Cherokee Nation cannot continue its
Jim Crow segregation policies. Allen Mitchell, a Creek Freedmen told the story of losing his citizenship in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation with the implementation of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act in the 1970’s.

Cherokee citizen David Cornsilk told the audience the Cherokee leadership has not always been racist, but the current administration has lost its Cherokee ways. Mr. Cornsilk said he was saddened by the actions that have been taken against his Cherokee Freedmen brothers and sisters. He told the story of Molly, the slave who was adopted by a Cherokee family in the 1830’s. Molly was given her freedom and given a Cherokee name and despite her skin
color was taken in as a Cherokee. Molly had a large family, who was also taken into the Cherokee community as free people. When a white lady claimed Molly and her family as her property, Cherokee Chief White Path declared she was Cherokee and fought off the slavers.
Mr. Cornsilk helped Cherokee Freedmen Lucy Allen win a lawsuit in the Cherokee’s highest Court – a lawsuit seeking reinstatement of Freedmen descendants in the tribe -- before it was dissolved by tribal officials and replaced by a new court and packed with new judges by the current Chief.

 

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  Tribal View of a Day at the Beach

by Roy Cook, Opata-Oodham, Mazopiye Wishasha: Writer, Singer, Speaker

La Jolla, CA. – Hazy history and cloudy days of soft sighs for those that we remember. For many years, all too often, the Kumeyaay are categorized by "they were" or "have been in the past", some other term that says they are not a part of this social context. There are information and socially conscious booths that offer delights and distractions in anticipation of this 9/12/08 event. Prominently located is Yvonne Trotter, Ipai, and basket maker from Mesa Grande. She has a very nice selection of Ipai and Kumeyaay pottery and baskets. She relates that the inspiration for some of her designs comes from the baskets made by her mother and grandmother. I share with her how many years ago on Santa Ysabel, we boys would go over to Christina Osuna Bresford's place and eat peaches from her orchard. Christina was a very popular and sought after basket maker as was her mother. Our conversation demonstrates the continuity of culture within our Indian community.

Yvonne Trottier Ipai Basketmaker Louis Guassic, Organizing Committee

There has been a missing part in the hearts of our local Tribal people and it has caused distress. Realizing that the ideal situation is one in which people do
look to their own self-reference and awareness for their identity, as opposed
to the established definitions provided by singular cultures. Tribal people
accomplish this by instilling values in our youth and perpetuating the continuity
of culture.

That this is a day of hope and celebration on an occasion for long overdue
recognition of the Kumeyaay people was prominent in the minds of many
attending this event. That said let me report of the living continuity of the
Ipai and Tipai people once again retuning to the shore and cliffs 'of holes'.

The tribal term for La Jolla is Mat Kulaahuuy or place of caves. This local language
descriptive term was quickly Europeanized phonetically into La Jolla. Now we hear it referred to, including in the speeches this day, as the jewel in San Diego's finest
city.

The mayor and other elected officials and representatives from institutions
were there and Artist Lynn Reeves hugged Mary Coakley and called her "the
angel" behind the map art project. The map, in colored cement, had brass fish
ranging from yellowtail to anchovies and was created by artists Lynn Reeves and
Rick Sparhawk.

Sycuan donated $55,000 to the project. This is an event to acknowledge
the richness of the shore and our responsible consciousness to the next generation. These cultural values have been the bedrock of Tribal cultures. All judgments and decisions are traditionally tempered in the tribal community with consideration as to the seventh generation.

Louis Guassic, Ipai from Mesa Grande, is on the City of San Diego Kellogg Park organizing committee and he has been primarily instrumental for securing the Bird Singers. Rickie Labrake from Sycuan is the Tribal spokesperson for this segment. He called up John Christman, Lead Bird singer with Steve Wallace and two young singers to demonstrate our tribal commitment to the continuity of our culture.

Additionally, he invited all representatives of the local 21 Bands of Indian
Nations. Attending are representatives from: Barona, Viejas, Sycuan, Jamul, San
Pasqual, Santa Ysabel, Mesa Grande,Campo, Manzanita. Many responded to
his request for women dancers to accompany the Bird singers along with
Miss Kumeyaay and Little Miss Kumeyaay.

This afternoon event was a fine opportunity to see old friends and marvel
over the next generation of local tribal people. The more things seem to
change the more they seem to be the same. This is our uplifting hope of the
day, the continuity of culture. We shall continue to endure as tribal people.

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  Warner Community Resource Center

Warner Community Resource Center (WCRC) is located in the very rural mountains just northeast of San Diego. Some beautiful surrounding areas of Warner Springs are Julian, Santa Ysabel, Ramona and Sunshine Summit. Suzy Carroll and Myrtle Cassell founded
WCRC in 1999. These two magnificent strong women had a vision to help our
rural community members and their families. The program was started with a Healthy Start grant. Some years later the WCRC became a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.

Currently and for the past year Program Specialist Lee Ann Mangels has been providing some much needed programs for the elderly, single parent families as well as low-income families and for the Warner Union School District students. Lee Ann started at the WCRC
on welfare to work program. She is a working single parent who needed and used many of the programs offered through the community resource center, before becoming employed there. She now is the Program Specialist and often runs the resource center on her own.
She loves her job and is determined to help anyone, anytime with whatever need may arise.

 Some programs the center currently offers are: monthly commodity food program, monthly senior food-for-a-week program, counseling (tribal and non-tribal), AA meetings,
election poll, craft classes, parenting classes, Flex Your Power information, food & clothes closet for emergency food and/or clothes, meeting place, internet access, Warner Native Pride meetings, Girl Scout meetings, Inspiring Wellness Group, medical & dental referrals,
help applying for Medi-Cal and/or Healthy Families……and a few more. As well as being a liaison for her rural community Lee Ann also participates as a co-advisor for the Warner Girl Scout Troop, co-advisor for the Warner Native Pride Club and secretary for the Warner
PTCC. The WCRC exists solely from grants and donations...and fundraisers.

 This is a small glimpse of the ongoing and new classes, services and activities that the WCRC offers to anyone within the 432 sq. mile school district boundaries. The Warner Springs area is a surrounded area of 7 tribal reservations.  The WCRC offers all these programs, services and activities to whomever are in need - tribal and/or non-tribal. We are
all here to help each other.

 If you would like more info please contact Lee Ann
Mangels @ (760) 782-0670.
WCRC Program Specialist
30951 Hwy 79
Warner Springs, CA 92086
bonnie_mangels3 @ hotmail.com
 

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  An Alaska Native speaks out on Palin, Oil, and Alaska

Evon Peter  evonpeter(at)mac.com  9/8/2008

My name is Evon Peter; I am a former Chief of the Neetsaii Gwich’in tribe from Arctic Village, Alaska and the current Executive Director of
Native Movement. My organization provides culturally based leadership development through offices in Alaska and Arizona. My wife,
who is Navajo, and I have been based out of Flagstaff, Arizona for
the past few years, although I travel home to Alaska in support of our initiatives
there as well. It is interesting to me that my wife and I find ourselves as
Indigenous people from the two states where McCain and Palin originate in their leadership.

I am writing this letter to raise awareness about the ongoing colonization and
violation of human rights being carried out against Alaska Native peoples in the
name of unsustainable progress, with a particular emphasis on the role of Sarah
Palin and the Republican leadership. My hope is that it helps to elevate truth about the nature of Alaskan politics in relation to Alaska Native peoples and that it lays a framework for our path to justice.

Ever since the Russian claim to Alaska and the subsequent sale to the United
States through the Treaty of Cession in 1867, the attitude and treatment towards
Alaska Native peoples has been fairly consistent. We were initially referred to as less than human “uncivilized tribes”, so we were excluded from any dialogues and decisions regarding our lands, lives, and status. The dominating attitude within the Unites States at the time was called Manifest Destiny; that God had given Americans this great land to take from the Indians because they were non-Christian and incapable of self-government. Over the years since that time, this framework for relating to Alaska Native peoples has become entrenched in the United States legislative and legal systems in an ongoing
direct violation of our human rights.

What does this mean? Allow me to share an analogy. If a group of people
were to arrive in your city and tell you their people had made laws, among
which were:
1. What were once your home and land now belong to them (although you could
live in the garage or backyard)
2. Forced you to send your children to boarding schools to learn their language
and be acculturated into their ways with leaders who touted “Kill the American, save the man” (based on the original statement made by US Captain Richard H. Pratt in regards to Native American education “Kill the Indian, save the man.”)
3. Supported missionaries and government agents to forcefully (for example,
with poisons placed on the tongues of your children and withheld vaccines) convince you that your Jesus, Buddha, Torah, or Mohammed was actually an agent of evil and that salvation in the afterlife could only be found through
believing otherwise
4. Made it illegal for you to continue to do your job to support your
family, except under strict oversight and through extensive regulation
5. Made it illegal for you to own any land or run a business as an individual
and did not allow you to participate in any form of their government, which
controlled your life (voting or otherwise)

How would this make you feel? What if you also knew that if you were to retaliate, that you would be swiftly killed or incarcerated? How long do you think it would take for you to forget or would you be sure to share this history with your children with the hope that justice could one day prevail for your descendents? And most importantly to our conversation, how American does this sound to you?

To put this into perspective, my grandfather who helped raise me in Arctic
Village was born in 1904, just thirty-seven years after the U.S. laid claim to
Alaska. If my grandfather had unjustly stolen your grandfathers home and I was
still living in the house and watching you live outdoors, would you feel a change was in order? Congress unilaterally passed most of the major US legislation that affect our people in my grandfathers’ lifetime. There has never been a Treaty between Alaska Native Peoples and the United States over these injustices. Each time that Alaska Native people stand up for our rights, the US responds with token shifts in its laws and policies to appease the building discontent, yet avoiding the underlying injustice that I believe can be resolved if leadership in the United States would be willing to acknowledge the underlying injustice of its control over Alaska Native peoples, our lands, and our ways of life.

United States legal history in relation to Alaska Natives has been based on one
major platform - minimize the potential for Alaska Native people to regain control of their lives, lands, and resources and maximize benefit to the Unites States government and its corporations. While the rest of the world, following World War II, was seeking to return African and European Nations to their rightful owners, the United States pushed in the opposite direction by pulling the then Territory of Alaska out of the United Nations dialogues and pushing for
Statehood into the Union. Why is it that Alaska Native Nations are still perceived as being incapable of governing our own lands, lives, and resources differently than African, Asian, and European nations?

Let me get specific about what is at stake and how this relates to Palin and
the Republican leadership in Alaska and across this country. To this day, Alaska Native peoples are among the only Indigenous peoples in all of North
America whose Indigenous Hunting and Fishing Rights have been extinguished by federal legislation and yet we are the most dependent people on this way of life.

Most of our villages have no roads that connect them to cities; many live with
poverty level incomes, and all rely to varying degrees on traditional hunting,
fishing, and harvesting for survival. This has become known as the debate on
Alaska Native Subsistence.

As Alaska Governor, Palin has continued the path of her predecessor Frank
Murkowski in challenging attempts by Alaska Native people to regain their
human right to their traditional way of life through subsistence.

The same piece of unilateral federal legislation, known as the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, that extinguished our hunting and fishing rights, also extinguished all federal Alaska Native land claims and my Tribe’s reservation status. In the continental United States, this sort of legislation is referred to as ‘termination legislation’ because it takes the rights of self-government away from Tribes. It is based in the same age old idea that we are not capable of governing our people, lands, and resources.

To justify these terminations, ANCSA also created Alaska Native led for-profit corporations (which were provided the remaining lands not taken by the government and a one time payment the equivalent of about 1/20th of the annual profits made by corporations in Alaska each year) with a mission of exploiting the land in partnership with the US government and outside corporations. It was a brilliant piece of legislation for the legal termination and cultural assimilation of Alaska Natives under the guise of progress.

Since the passage of ANCSA, political leaders in Alaska, with a few exceptions, have maintained that, as stated by indicted Senator Ted Stevens, “Tribes have never existed in Alaska.” They maintain this position out of fear that the real injustice being carried out upon Alaska Natives may break into mainstream awareness and lead to a re-opening of due treaty dialogues between Alaska Native leaders and the federal government.

At the same time the federal government chose to list Alaska Native tribes
in the list of federally recognized tribes in 1993. Governor Palin maintains that
tribes were federally recognized but that they do not have the same rights as the
tribes in the continental United States to sovereignty and self-governance, even to the extent of legally challenging our Tribes rights pursuant to the Indian Child
Welfare Act. What good are governments that can’t make decisions concerning their own land and people?

The colonial mentality in and towards Alaska is to exploit the land and
resources for profits and power, at the expense of Alaska Native people.
Governor Palin reflects this attitude and perspective in her words and leadership.

She comes from an area within Alaska that was settled by relocated agricultural
families from the continental United States in the second half of the last century.
It is striking that a leader from that particular area feels she has a right, considering all of the injustices to Alaska Native people, to offer Alaskan oil and resources in an attempt to solve the national energy crisis at the Republican
Convention. Palin also chose not to mention the connection between oil development and global warming, which is wreaking havoc on Alaska Native villages, forcing some to begin the process of relocation at a cost sure to reach into the hundreds of millions.

Our tribes depend on healthy and abundant land and animals for our survival.
For example, my people depend on the Porcupine Caribou herd, which
migrates into the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge each
spring to birth their young. Any disruption and contamination will directly
impact the health and capacity for my people to continue to live in a homeland
we have been blessed to live in for over 10,000 years. This is the sacrifice Palin offered to the nation. The worst part of it is that there are viable alternatives to addressing the energy crisis in the United States, yet Palin chooses options that very well may result in the extinguishment of some
of the last remaining intact ecosystems and original cultures in all of North America.

Palin is also promoting off shore oil drilling and increased mining in sensitive areas of Alaska, all of which would have a lifespan of far fewer years than my grandfather walked on this earth and which would not even make a smidgen of an impact on national consumption rates or longer term sustainability. McCain was once a champion of protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and it is sad to see, that with Palin on board, he is no longer vocal and perhaps even giving up on what he believes in to satisfy Palin’s position. While I have much more to say, this is my current offering to elevate the conversation about what is at stake in Alaska and for Alaska Native peoples. Please share this offering with others and help us to make this an election that brings out honest dialogue.

 We have an opportunity to bring lasting change, but only if we can be open
to hearing the truth about our situations and facing the challenges that arise.
Many thanks to all those who are taking stands for a just and sustainable future for all of our future generations.

*This essay is a personal reflection and should not be attributed to my tribe or
organization.

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 AIR Banquet 2008

   
By Roy Cook

The American Indian Recruitment, AIR Program, 14th year Fundraiser and Banquet at the Sycuan Resort September 25, 08 is a fabulous, superbly attended success! Gathered tonight are elegant ladies, polite gentlemen, generous sponsors and Tribal tables of council members and proud relations. Randy Edmonds and his wife Bonnie along with Connie Greybull and others are at the SCAIR table.

Louis Guassic makes the event opening welcome for Sycuan Chairman Danny Tucker. From 6 to 9pm there is a well-coordinated program of Traditional cultural recognition and significant recognitions and achievements in the academics and Tribal communities.

Additionally there is a moving tribute to a point of light mentor and part of the AIR program, Crystal Roberts. Jamul Indian Village and the Meza Family Memorial Scholarship are acknowledged with respect and appreciation.
Many attendees have come to expect and appreciate the efforts of the
Raffle Queen, Eleanor Miller, Traditional Kumeyaay pottery, baskets, gift baskets along with sports memorabilia and Pendleton blankets encouraged
many to check their tickets at the many raffles this evening.

There are good times and great prizes for all attending! Student award scholarships, mentor award of the year and the community leadership award of the year were sandwiched in between the raffles. Seriously, Natlia Orosco introduced Bonnie Buchanan and Devon Lomayesya introduced Brenaya Batey as the two recipients of the Student award scholarships for 2008. Dr. Michelle Jacob from USD, in Plains regalia, introduced the mentor of the year, AEA Cowen Alex.

Finally, Dwight Lonayesva announced the community leadership recipient, Vickie Gambala SDUSD Title VII Indian Education. He acknowledged her many years of encouragement and support to the AIR program. She said, “Osio, I am a Cherokee from Oklahoma. Both my sons, daughter and granddaughter are here tonight and I am very happy each time my family is together. I have been with the San Diego School District for 25 years and I always appreciate the support and participation of my Title VII Indian parent committee. All our efforts, volunteers and partnerships like AIR and SCAIR are for the future success of our Indian children. Wado, thank you.”

We have had a great year with the AIR Program. We have directly served 108 students and over 200 overall participants (students and mentors) within this one-year. Some of our AIR students are from distant Reservations over 51 miles away. AIR has served Indian students representing 11 of the 17 Tribal Bands in San Diego County. We appreciate our community partners for this last year and look forward to our 15th year of challenge and success for our Indian Students. Best of all, our Indian Children appreciate your support! Mehan, thank you.

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  Protest Against Toll Road Through Acjachemen Sacred Site

By Norrie Robbins

Members of the Juaneno Band of Mission
Indians Acjachemem Nation at the hearing: from left to right are, Alfred Cruz Jr., Alfred Cruz, Sharon (Cruz) Casioce and Steve Casioce.

Don’t even ask me what the Federal Government is doing in the middle of
this story. A private developer wants to build a toll road at the border between
Orange and San Diego County. The toll road would skirt Camp Pendleton, go
through a sacred site, a wilderness reserve, a California state park, and affect
the best surfing site in Southern California. Denying the permit was a no
brainer for the California Coastal Commission. But that didn’t stop the
special interests from putting pressure on the Governor and bringing in the Dept. of Commerce to try to jump start the project.

That’s the short version. “The proposed toll road violates the California Coastal Act, several endangered species acts, and at least two other laws designating San Onofre as a state park and to always remain either a state park or open space area even if Camp Pendleton is closed. Also note, San Mateo Campground was mitigation (compensation to the public) for the loss of the
beach to build San Onofre nuclear power station. Donna O’Neil Land Conservancy was mitigation for the loss of land to the Talega development.” That’s the legal version according to www.caopenspace.org.

The Acjachemen (Juaneno) part of the story starts perhaps 9,000 years ago,
when the watershed of San Mateo Creek was the site of the village of Panhe.
Indian people who were coerced into building Mission San Juan Capistrano
lived there; their descendents are still being buried there. Ceremonies are still
practiced there. For example, every year on the first Saturday in October, we meet there at 7:30 AM to participate in the Acjachemen-Tongva Pilgrimage in Honor of Ancestors. The Pilgrimage continues on during the day to 5 other village sites, ending at Puvungna, the Tongva sacred site where the Great Spirit gave breath to the two-legged. That site is now called Cal State Long Beach. Panhe, the ancient village site at the center of the current fight, is listed as part of a National Register District (the San Mateo Archaeological District, which encompasses sites ORA-22 and SDI-4284, 4535, and 8435.)

The other side of the story is being pushed by a private corporation, the
Transportation Corridor Agency. The County of Orange has recently permitted
the building of Ranch Mission Viejo, a development for 40,000 people. These
people will want easy access to I-5. A straightforward route would move them
along State Route 241, extend 241 as a toll road through Panhe, and connect onto I-5.

They tried to get around the California Coastal Commission ruling by saying the
road was needed for national security. But they have run into a roadblock—
thousands of people who love surfing at Trestles, camping at San Mateo campground, hiking in the Donna O’Neil wilderness reserve, visiting sites of modern cultural/religious practices, and studying the past as history or archaeology. Not only that, no one plans to stop fighting a group who wants to build right through a Cal State Park. To add spice to the fight, “the Marine Corps has publicly rejected the claim to national security, presumably because running a toll road through Camp Pendleton would inevitably impede, not
improve, our military readiness,” said Cal. State Treasurer Bill Lockyer at the hearing. A thousand people showed up Oct. 22, 2008 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds to tell the Dept. of Commerce that this was not their jurisdiction and we will fight forever to keep the land free of a toll road.

 

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 An Open Letter to Barack Obama Symbolism Alone Will Not Bring Change 

By Leonard Peltier

I have watched with keen interest and renewed hope as your campaign has mobilized millions of Americans behind your message of changing a political system that serves a small economic elite at the expense of the peoples of the United States and the world. Your election as president of the United States, where slaves and Indians were long considered
less than human under the law, will undoubtedly constitute a historic
moment in race relations in the United States.

Yet symbolism alone will not bring about change. Our young people, black and Native alike, suffer from police brutality and racial profiling, underfunded schools, and discrimination in employment and housing. I sincerely hope your campaign will inspire some hope among our youth to struggle for a better future.

I am, however, concerned that your recent statement on the Sean Bell verdict, in which the New York police officers who fired 50 shots at a young man on the eve of his wedding were acquitted of criminal charges, displays a rather myopic view of the law. Until the law is harnessed to protect the victims of state violence and racism, it will serve as an instrument of repression, just as the slave codes functioned to sustain and
legitimize an inhuman institution.

As I can testify from experience, the legal institutions of this nation are far from racial and political neutrality. When judges align with the repressive actions and policies of the executive branch, injustice is rationalized and cloaked in judicial platitudes. As you may know, I have now served more than three decades of my life as a political prisoner of the federal government for a crime I did not commit. I have served more time than the maximum sentence under the guidelines under which I was sentenced, yet my parole is continually denied (on the rare occasions when I am afforded a hearing) because I refuse to falsely confess.  Amnesty International, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, my Guatemalan sister Rigoberta Menchu, and many of your friends and supporters have recognized me as a political prisoner and called for my immediate release. Millions of people around the world view me as a symbol of injustice against the indigenous peoples of this land, and I have no doubt that I will go down in history as one of a long line of victims of U.S. government repression, along with Sacco and Vanzetti, the Haymarket Square martyrs, Eugene Debs, Bill Haywood, and others targeted for their political beliefs. But neither I nor my people can afford to wait for history to rectify the crimes of the past.

As a member of the American Indian Movement, I came to the Pine Ridge
Oglala reservation to defend the traditional people there from human rights violations carried out by tribal police and goon squads backed by the FBI and the highest offices of the federal government. Our symbolic occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973 inspired Indians across the Americas to struggle for their freedom and treaty rights, but it was also met by a fierce federal siege and a wave of violent repression on Pine Ridge. In 1974, AIM leader Russell Means campaigned for tribal chairman while being tried by the federal government for his role at Wounded Knee. Although Means was barred from the reservation by decree of the U.S.-client regime of Richard Wilson, he won the popular vote, only to be denied office by extensive vote fraud and control of the electoral mechanisms. Wilson’s goons proceeded to shoot up pro-Means villages such as Wanblee and terrorize traditional supporters throughout the reservation, killing at least 60 people between 1973 and 1975.

It is long past time for a congressional investigation to examine the degree of federal complicity in the violent counterinsurgency that followed the occupation of Wounded Knee. The tragic shootout that led to the deaths of two FBI agents and one Native man also led not only to my false conviction, but also the termination of the Church Committee, which was investigating abuses by federal intelligence and law enforcement agents, before it could hold hearings on FBI infiltration of AIM. Despite decades of attempts by my attorneys to obtain government documents related to my case, the FBI continues to withhold thousands of documents that might tend to exonerate me or reveal compromising evidence of judicial collusion with the prosecution.

I truly believe the truth will set me free, but it will also signify a symbolic break from America’s undeclared war on indigenous peoples. I hope and pray that you possess the courage and integrity to seek out the truth and the wisdom to recognize the inherent right of all peoples to self-determination, as acknowledged by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. While your statements on federal Indian policy sound promising, your vision of “one America” has an ominous ring for Native peoples struggling to define their own national visions. If freed from colonial constraints and external intervention, indigenous nations might well serve as functioning models of the freedom and democracy to which the United States aspires.

Yours in the struggle.
Until freedom is won,
Leonard Peltier
# 89637-132
U.S.P. Lewisburg,
P.O. Box 1000,
Lewisburg, PA USA 17837

Please send your donation to:
LPDOC
PO Box 7488
Fargo, ND 58106
701-235-2206

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First Tribal TANF Wedding San Diego Indian Center Out-of-Wedlock Prevention Program

by Roy Cook

This is a glorious day for a wedding. The sun is shining and the steady Barona breeze is keeping the air clean so you can see the surrounding mountains clearly. This is a fine day at 1pm May 28, 2008 to do things right.

Leroy Elliott, Manzanita Tribal Chairperson, is officiating at this traditional Indian wedding of Miss Rietta Marie Carmen, Maidu and Mr. Norman Eugene Amador, Pascua Yaqui. The couple has been together for some time.

Chairman Leroy Elliott smudged the groom and bride before the ceremony with burning white sage smoke and feelings of excitement and anticipation. Laughter bubbles up and a lot of children and smiles are seen in every pew and corner of the Barona Wedding Chapel. Preceding the exchange of vows Leroy calls upon Devon Alto, Tipai, and Louis Guassic, Ipai, to sing four appropriate Tukuk Bird songs for the occasion.

Vows and kisses completed the happy married couple exit to more laughter and bubbles of rainbow colors and lifted The wedding was coordinated by the San Diego Indian Center and the Southern California American Indian Resource Center, Inc. The program is funded by the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association, Inc and Tribal TANF program.

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 Thousands Gather in Oakland for Fall Conference on Ending the Prison Industrial Complex

Oakland, CA – “Even though imprisonment has not delivered a clear return on public safety and support for more prisons and police is faltering, for the first time, more than 1 in every 100 adults in the U.S. is in prison or jail. We’ve reached a tipping point,” said Rachel Herzing of Critical Resistance.

“We can either continue down the same road of more police, more prisons,
more control, or we can follow the lead of public opinion and invest in the things that truly build safe communities. We are coming together in Oakland this weekend as people who have been in prison, family members, organizers, policy makers, researchers and others to strategize how to go down that new road,” added Herzing.

In 1998, thousands came together and launched what would become Critical Resistance – a national grassroots organization dedicated to ending the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC). The PIC is an expansive system of control that includes the use of prisons, policing and surveillance to address what are social, economic and political problems.

Ten years later, Critical Resistance is bringing thousands to the Bay again for CR10, to assess the last ten years of struggle and to begin to map out the next decade of work. From September 26 through 28, 2008, CR10 brought together communities, families, former prisoners, policy makers, advocates, and others in an unheralded 3-day workshop driven, entertainment filled, and solutions oriented weekend with the goal of unifying, reinvigorating, and mobilizing the movement in the US and across the world to end society’s use of prisons and policing as purported solutions to social problems.

The Opening Night Celebration took place on Friday, September 26 beginning at 6:30pm at the Scottish Rite Center, 1547 Lakeshore Dr. in Oakland and feature University of California Professor and author Angela Davis, All Nations Drum, Hank Jones of the San Francisco 8, Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company and many more.

Some of the conference’s growing list of participants will include:
• The Jena Six families
• Professor Ruthie Gilmore, author of Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California
• Former political prisoner and Puerto Rican activist Lucy Rodriguez
• Co-founder of All of Us or None and long-time prisoner rights activist
Dorsey Nunn

CR10 also serves as the venue for the release of The Justice Policy Institute’s new report: Moving Target, providing new data on the growth, impact, and cost of the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) researched by one of the nation’s leading criminal justice think tanks. It will also discuss the fight against the PIC, and successes in curbing the growth of prisons, as well as alternatives to imprisonment that are gaining greater support.

“The challenge facing us is immense. In the U.S., over 2.3 million people are warehoused in prisons and jails, with 700,000 people returning home from
prison each year to communities devastated by racism, poverty and indifference. The harm of what we call crime cannot be solved through the additional harm of policing, surveillance and separation from loved ones. Empowered communities, with decent housing, secure jobs, food security, healthy environments and high-quality education, are the real alternative to incarceration,” said Julia Sudbury, one of the founders of Critical Resistance.  

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DRUM BEAT
Soaring Eagles Dance Class

(New Fall Class Schedule)
October 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29
November 5, 12 & 19
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Adams Avenue Community Center
4649 Hawley Blvd.,
San Diego CA 92116
DATES *SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Each Wednesday the San Diego Inter-tribal singers: Terry Hinsley,
Ben Nance, Richard Decrane, Frank Gastelum, Roy Cook and Tyler.

We welcome any new faces to the drum. Appropriate songs are sung to the benefit of the dancers and at the requests of the dance instructors. It is a very nice experience to be at the drum again for the benefit of our American Indian children. Grass dance, shawl dance, round dance, crow hop, more shawl dance, women traditional, more round dance and fun
specialty songs are sung for the entertainment and instruction of the Soaring Eagles Dance Class dancers. Some are shy and reluctant but by the ending of the song, many are dancing!

Wow, participation, that is the true measure of success. Everyone knows it is not easy but it is worth doing well and the satisfaction is in the achievement. Soaring Eagles Dance Class is at the same location and in addition to the American Indian Dance and regalia instruction there is a
tutoring and summer reading program. Books are provided by the program to be checked out and reviews or stories to be submitted during
the summer. People often ask why do we go to so many Pow wows. Where else can you get tired and sore cheeks from dancing  and smiling all the time! Sincerely, we all appreciate the confidence and support of those who help keep us on track and in the circle of life. The Red Road is
often hard but the Creator is compassionate and never gives us more than we can endure. All you can get from too much of a good time is a warm fuzzy feeling and a real goofy smile. We will look for you on the Pow wow trail! Maybe we will see you and your younger relatives at these Soaring Eagles Dance Class free classes. They are coordinated by San Diego City School Indian Education Program (858) 627-7362 &
Indian Human Resource Center (619) 281-5964.

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Westside Turmoil

Las Vegas, NV. – Uptown Las Vegas or The Historic Westside is in serious jeopardy. Not only have the residents been encouraged (by the city) to leave but now local business owners are also being forced to either relocate their businesses out of city jurisdiction or being denied business licensees. In a tragic twist of irony it was desegregation that turned a thriving Jackson St into a wasteland. With integration the residents were allowed to go to the Strip and “White” Shopping areas. After integration the Historic Westside was never the same.

It went from working class folks to a poverty stricken ghetto, as some people might phrase it. Now here in 2008 many businesses have been discouraged
by being denied permits, licensees, or any assistance from the City of Las
Vegas. I remember how excited people were to have Ricky Barlow running for
office. He grew up here and the Westside residents put their faith in him
due to that fact. Now we are quite surprised in the amount of support he has
for the Westside. Just in the last three months we have lost more than 5 businesses. What more is it going to take place before the African American community unites and fights for what they have called their home for more than 50 years? Just showing up to the local meetings has more of an impact than you can imagine. There is power in numbers, and not money, but people,
numbers of people. I encourage all residents and business owners whom love
this area to become aware and stop allowing certain folks to demise our intelligence, we see the empty lots, and the number is growing.

Nation of Islam
As promised by Indian Voices, we said we would dedicate a portion of our
section to Brother Duke (Mosque at Jackson and D Street). I did go visit the
Mosque last Sunday. I was treated very respectfully, that is a definite attribute with The Nation of Islam, respect. Respecting whom you are your heritage, women and family. Indian Voices sends their condolences to the Nation for the loss of WD Mohammed. WD Mohammed was the son of the Nation of Islam founder.
 

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 Entertainment Tidbits

Dr. Adele "Z.Z." Zorn

A long-time mainstay in Las Vegas, Mac King continues to make “Best” categories awards. He recently had a carnival party after his show for kids of all ages, including me, and we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with this captivating comedian magician. Mac King, was named “Best Magician” for 2007 and “Best Bargain Show” for 2007 and 2008 by the Las Vegas Review-Journal Best of Las Vegas readers’ poll. King has also been named the “Funniest Act in Magic Today” by the April 2008 issue of Magic Magazine and Magician of the Year by The Magic Castle. King takes the stage at HARRAH’s twice daily, Tuesday through Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. Tickets are $24.95.

Emmy award-winning comedian and one of the most versatile men in show business. Wayne Brady, has now become a staple of Las Vegas entertainment. Celebrating his first anniversary as a Strip headliner at the VENETIAN, with more than 200 performances, Brady is only getting started and will continue to entertain audiences until August 2009. An anniversary cake was presented at the end of his show on his anniversary performance. His one-of-a-kind show, “Making It Up,” is hysterically funny. It is a variety show style that incorporates improv, singing, dancing and amazing audience participation. In a Tina Turner costume, this guy has legs that any woman would want. He does Celebrity Idol improv with lyrics from titles from audience members that he makes up as he goes along (title ie: Wipe My Butt). His excellent talent, a fabulous sidekick, band, dancers and interactive audience participation make this show a side-splitting evening of entertainment.

Brady will soon celebrate the release of his first studio album, On September 16, Brady’s debut album, “A Long Time Coming” will be released, further expanding the scope of Brady’s incomparable talent. Media and other guests had an opportunity to greet Wayne Brady at an anniversary celebration at the PALAZZO’s now defunct 40/40 Club after the show. Congratulations to Wayne and his wonderful cast.
Little Anthony and The Imperials will perform at the TROPICANA Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. Little Anthony and The Imperials are the only vocal group originating in the 1950s that still perform with all of the original members. Best known for favorites such as “Tears On My Pillow,” “Shimmy, Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop,” “I'm On the Outside Looking In,” “Going Out of My Head” and “Hurt So Bad,” they offer a unique blend of doo-wop, soul, and rhythm and blues.
Pop music icon Janet Jackson returns to the touring circuit for the first time in seven years. The tour will land at the MANDALAY BAY Events Center Friday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m .and will feature the hit songs and innovative dance routines that have made Jackson one of the most celebrated artists in history. Jackson has left an indelible mark on pop music as a female artist, having reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard Magazine’s Top 200 Album Chart six times. She is one of only three female musicians who have achieved this accomplishment.
Paul Rodriguez, referred to as the “Richard Pryor and George Carlin of original comedy” within the Hispanic community, will perform with the “Latin Kings of Comedy” inside the Treasure Island Theatre September 12 at 9 p.m. This one-night only engagement marks Rodriguez’s first performance at TI (TREASURE ISLAND).

The infamous rocker with the bad ass attitude Grammy award-nominated Kid Rock returns to The PALM’s Pearl Concert Theatre on Saturday, September 20 at 8:00 p.m. In 2003, Rock released a self-titled album followed by a tribute album to Bob Seger entitled Live Tucker (2006) and another album Pickin’ On Kid Rock: A Badass Bluegrass Tribute (2007) to show his down home bluegrass side with guitars, banjos, mandolins and harmonica sounds

MORTON's THE STEAKHOUSE in Las Vegas celebrated the grand opening of Bar 12-21 with guest of honor and self-proclaimed "martini aficionado" Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman. The event showcased Bar 12-21 -- named after the opening of the first MORTONS's STEAKHOUSE in Chicago on December 21, 1978. In honor of the grand opening, hiz honor, Mayor Oscar Goodman was presented with the "Oscartini" that will be a permanent fixture on MORTON's Las Vegas signature cocktail menu. Mayor Goodman also received a wine locker with his name engraved on a gold nameplate. The restaurant's 56 wine lockers are located in the entryway next to photos of the many celebrities who have dined at the steakhouse.

KIWANIS, Las Vegas chapter, in cooperation with nine affiliated KIWANIS clubs throughout Southern Nevada, will conduct “DISCOVER CHINATOWN,” a fundraising and awareness building “get acquainted” tour and theatre performance at the CHINATOWN PLAZA on Spring Mountain at Arville, Saturday, September 13, from 5:00 pm until 9:00 p.m.

The CHINATOWN PLAZ A consists of a performance theatre and approximately 45 restaurants and businesses catering to Chinese and Asian-Pacific cultures. Entertainment will include a 90-minute performances by the LOHAN SCHOOL of SHAOLIN, a non-profit martial arts training school, dedicated to teaching the arts of ancient China both martially and spiritually. Their emphasis is to encourage youth to adopt Chinese-founded arts of dance, song and martial arts in order to instill positive values to enrich body and mind through the teaching of mental and physical discipline.

The LOHAN SCHOOL operates an “Anti-Gang Task Force” to direct youth away from gang influence and into behavior respecting positive life values. The 6:00 p.m. event will highlight the famous Chinese dance ritual Lion Dance and will include performances of martial arts, kung fu, Chinese folk dancing and more.

Prior to the 6:00 p.m. performance and afterwards, at tendees are encouraged to visit all the merchants and restaurants at the CHINATOWN PLAZA and familiarize themselves with Chinese and Asian Pacific culture and arts. Tickets are $12.00. Attendance is limited to the first 400 people who buy tickets. A commemorative “Discover Chinatown Program Book”, a full-color publication which features information on KIWANIS and the LOHAN SCHOOL, will be given out to participants. Tickets are available from Joe Gereghty, Kiwanis Las Vegas President, 839-9509. KIWANIS is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time.

You might have seen or heard of HITZVILLE -THE SHOW when it had its successful run at the HILTON. The Producers took it on the road throughout the country and now HITZVILLE is back in Las Vegas Wednesday through Sunday at the HARMON Theater next to the Planet Hollywood. HITZVILLE – THE SHOW is a journey through time with the music that made MOTOWN come alive. The revue features a cast of talented, performers that include a trio of women, a quartet of men and a four piece band. The performers remarkably become Tina Turner, The Drifters, Gladys Knight, The Supremes, The Four Tops and more as they perform their hits. Jennifer “Jin-Jin” Reeves stars, but she is quick to give credit to her band. Jin Jin raves, “the guitar player comes from Stevie Wonder and the Musical Director from Gladys Knight, and of course the drummer from church!” In addition to the spectacular performances, you receive an authentic Soul Food Buffet that includes: Fried Chicken, Barbeque Ribs, Collard Green and Sweet Potato Pie. HITZVILLE – THE SHOW performs at 7 p.m. nightly, with buffet seating at 6:30. Tickets are $54.95 or $64.95 for VIP seating.

The week before I saw this great show I was at the BMA - BLACK MUSIC AWARDS Awards show where Jin Jin Reeves received awards for best Image and Best Show. Here are some pictures of that event.








One of the most influential Latin singers, Marco Antonio Solís, will perform at PALM’s Pearl Theater on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. Hailing from Michoacán, Mexico, Solís became fascinated with music at a young age and formed his first band when he was only 12. In the mid-1970s, Solís formed the group Los Bukis. He spent nearly two decades as t he lead singer and principal songwriter for the group before deciding to embark on a solo career.

The SPRINGS PRESERVE announced that it has achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification on all seven of its buildings. The result of nearly a decade of designing, planning and constructing, the SPRINGS PRESERVE is the greenest attraction in Las Vegas and serves as a model and hands-on educational resource for green buildings and sustainability within the Southwest. Not only a resource for those who are building new, the public can learn how to retrofit existing dwellings or gain valuable tips to lower their utility bills. Total square footage of Platinum LEED building space at the Preserve is 149,560.

The Springs Preserve, in keeping with its ongoing mission to provide environmental leadership to the Las Vegas community, will host a Bicycles-As-Transportation event on Thursday, September 25 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will be hosted by actor/environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. Beginning at 5 p.m. and continuing until dusk, everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to ride one of several IZIP hybrid electric bicycles from Currie Technologies. In addition, Mr. Begley and special guests will speak on the importance of bicycles as transportation. Ed Begley Jr. and I knew each other years ago when I was acting and we met again recently.

BINIONS’s GAMBLING HALL has unveiled a new version of the famed $1 Million Display that, over the last five decades, has brought millions of visitors for a chance to pose with $1 Million. The $1Million Dollar Display is a major component of Binion’s legacy and a piece of Las Vegas history. Binion’s new $1 Million Display holds exactly one million dollars and is structured in a pyramid design of acrylic glass boxes filled with cash denominat ions ranging from ones to one hundred dollar bills. The display is set up on a poker table, evoking the nostalgia of the BINION’s poker heritage and the days when Benny Binion would present stacks of cash to poker tournament winners. The $1 Million Display is located in the BINION’s casino near the CLUB BINION Booth

Guests of Mint Monday pool party events at the TROPICANA can enjoy live entertainment, a variety of food and drink, swimming, dancing and gaming through Sept. 22. Mint Monday events are from noon to 11 p.m. They are free of charge, open to the public and offer half price drinks from 5-7 p.m. on Monday evenings. Upcoming entertainment includes: 9/8 Bonafide Reggae 7 p.m., 9/15 Yellow Brick Road 7:30 p.m. and 9/22 Zowie Bowie 7 p.m.

The Epicurean Charitable Foundation Las Vegas will host its 7th annual scholarship fundraiser gala at MANDALAY BAY BEACH on Friday, Oct. 3, featuring world-class cuisine, fine wines20and spectacular entertainment. UNLV Men’s Basketball Head Coach Lon Kruger will be honored by the Foundation that will also include a special performance by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. The casual beachside setting will feature food prepared by the finest chefs and restaurants in Las Vegas along with a fantastic collection of wines and spirits. Some of the participating restaurants include BOA Steakhouse, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, BLT Burger, SEABLUE and more. Proceeds from the event will go toward the Epicurean Charitable Foundation Las Vegas’ scholarship program that supports Las Vegas area students in their pursuit of a career in the hospitality field. For information on purchasing tickets, contact the Foundation at (702) 932-5098 or via email at info@ecflv.org.

Las Vegas staple, JERRY’s Famous Coffee Shop inside JERRY’s NUGGET CASINO, offers an incredible $11.99 lobster dinner special 24/7. The succulent lobster comes with a wide array of side dishes as diners can choose the homemade soup or Jerry’s famous signature salad, a whipped or baked potato or rice, and garlic or French bread. If foodies want to sweeten the deal, a marinated, grilled-to-perfection New York Steak can be added for $2.00 more.

Voter registration is important because every vote counts and you must be registered in order to vote. With this in mind, a VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE will be held every Tuesday from now through October at JERRY’s NUGGET. Saturday, October 4 is the last day to register to vote during the General Election on November 4.

What a fun time can be had at the SPRING MOUNTAIN SUMMER THEATRE. This theatre that brings superb live affordable shows under the stars has been around since 1976 and is getting better and better. I recently saw a great production of Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA while enjoying a picnic dinner we brought along. Prior to AIDA, the SPRING MOUNTAIN SUMMER THEATRE presented ‘BEAUTY and the BEAST’ and ‘1776.’ Following ‘AIDA’ will be perfomances of CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATRE on Sept. 5 and 6 and JAZZ FEST September 12 and 13.

Oldies but goodies are here in Las Vegas as three of the best ol’ time perfo rmers show off their talents at THE GRAND COURT on September 24 at 5p.m. Renee Lee, Ann McCormack and Greta Lorworth are mature (senior) professional entertainers who have been performing all their lives and still going strong. Audiences love them. (Annie is 87).

TERRIBLE’s PRIMM VALLEY CASINO RESORTS is giving an entertainment stimulus by offering 500 free tickets to every show until the end of the year. If interested, go to www.primmconcerts.com

New York based fashion designer, Jason Wu unveiled his new line of fashion dolls at TREVI Italian Restaurant in CAESARS PALACE Forum Shops. Jason Wu is a designer for celebrities and began his career in fashion design at the age of 14. He is the creator of the AvantGuard dolls that were dressed in designer outfits shown at the TREVI reception. The dolls are geared to collectors and girls 14 and up and are at FAO Schwartz and Integrity toys Websites. David Buttry of Integrity toys walked around holding the dolls for the attendees to see close up. The event also featured TREVI's own AvantGuardtini martini and AvantGuard desserts.



For the second consecutive month, Hash House A Go Go is partnering with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to raise money for the organization and its Walk to Cure Diabetes on Saturday, Oct. 11. Created by 15-year-old, type-1 diabetic Jordan Exber and named for her walk team, For the Love of Jordan, Hash House A Go Go’s special pancake is loaded with macadamia nuts and white chocolate. For the entire month of September, the restaurant is donating $2 from the sale of every For the Love of Jordan to the organization.

Olympia Weekend, the most prestigious event in the world of bodybuilding, returns to the ORLEANS Arena, September 25 through 28. Mr. Olympia is a bodybuilding competition held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB). Winning this event is considered to be the highest accolade in the professional bodybuilding field. Las Vegas resident, Jay Cutler, is competing to defend his Mr. Olympia title for the third consecutive year. Other national and international competitors include Melvin Anthony, Gustavo Badell, Phil Heath, Dexter Jackson and Dennis Wolf.

Fitness enthusiasts from around the world will take part in Mr. Olympia, Ms. Olympia, and Fitness and Figure Olympia Championships. The parallel contest, Ms. Olympia, is specifically for female bodybuilders. Fitness Olympia and Figure Olympia are held for fitness and figure competitors, respectively.

The Hard Rock has created a decadent atmosphere in mind to attract the world’s top poker players, as well as high-end bachelor parties, and private events, with Las Vegas’ first Poker Lounge. A private bar, bottle service, certified masseuses, music, plush couches, and video poker machines…sounds more like a nightclub than a traditional poker room. The $30 million designed space features 18 poker20tables including five private, high limit tables that have already turned the heads of some of the biggest names in the poker world, as well as Hollywood and professional athletes.

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OCTOBER 2008 pdf

OCTOBER 2008 (centerfold) pdf
 

GuideToOnlineSchools.com can help you find an accredited distance learning degree in ESL and TESOL at one of many prestigious schools, like University of Phoenix so you can start a career teaching English as a second language.

Affordable Senior Apartments

Lovely 100-unit senior apartment building will soon have apartments available.  Must be 62 or older or mobility impaired. Income must be $27,650.00 or less for one person or $31,600.00 or less for two persons.  Rent includes utilities, laundry facilities, and recreation areas.  Section 8 available.
 Equal Housing Opportunity.

For information call:
 619-575-3232
                          

Help Support Indian Voices while you get your travel on:

 

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